Two tests were administered to 652 students to investigate the effect of structuring questions about the mole. A third test was administered to see whether each step/operation was intrinsically difficult or if it was only difficult when part of a series of steps/operations. Findings are reported and discussed. (JN)

Discusses effects of test question order on student performance. Addresses (1) differences in the distribution of scores on each form of the examination; (2) effects on the validity of individual examination items; and (3) effects on the reliability of the examination instrument. Concludes that distribution of examination scores may be influenced…

Research and practice in detecting and controlling for cheating on objective tests are reviewed and a small survey of attitudes and practices is reported. Potential of two computer programs to detect error similarities and use of multiple answer-sheet forms to control cheating are discussed. Teacher cheating is also addressed. (Author/MSE)

Reports on a study to determine the development of children's understanding of seven properties of the arithmetic mean and to assess the effects of material used in the testing and the medium of presentation. Some differences were found in children's reasoning. No significant differences were found for materials or medium of presentation. (PK)

This paper focuses on item design considerations faced by instructional designers and evaluators when using computer videodisc delivery systems as a means of assessing learner comprehension and competencies. Media characteristics of various interactive computer/videodisc training systems are briefly discussed as well as reasons for using such…

To meet the needs of visually-impaired candidates, Educational Testing Service (ETS) has traditionally provided tests in three special formats: large-print, Braille, and cassette. Certain ETS programs permit the use of the candidate's reader or the use of amanuensis, that is, someone who records answers for the candidate. The primary goal of…

This manual presents an instrument designed for visual arts education research and as a screening and identification test for use in gifted/talented education for artistically talented students. The test consists of four items or tasks that call for a demonstration of different abilities and skills. Each completed drawing is assessed and assigned…

Information is presented about the grade 9 mathematics examination to be administered in 1988. Contents include: (1) Introduction; (2) General Information (including Purpose of the Achievement Testing Program, Nature of the Achievement Testing Program, Exemptions from the Achievement Testing Program, Students Receiving Instruction in French,…

Increased emphasis on public school accountability has resulted in several states including a science component in their elementary and middle school testing program. This component often includes items designed to measure process skill ability. The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of high school students on four types of…

This report describes the development, construction, and validation of the Preliminary Chinese Proficiency Test (Pre-CPT), a standardized, nationally-normed test of listening and reading comprehension for beginning-level native English-speaking learners of Chinese as a second language. The Pre-CPT was designed as a lower-level version of the…

This study investigated the relationships among the symbolic representation of problems given to students to solve, the mental representations they use to solve the problems, and the accuracy of their solutions. Twenty eleventh-grade science students were asked to think aloud as they solved problems on the ideal gas laws. The problems were…

Explores the concept of construct validity in the context of a public examination. Multitrait-multimethod analysis and factor analysis were used. Discusses the analyses in terms of theory versus practical components and experimental versus observational investigation in practical components. Sample items for the practical examinations are…

Reports on a preliminary study of cognitive style and performance of 182 secondary students on the British General Certificate of Secondary Education. Finds that students who tested at an intermediate position on both dimensions of the Wholist-Analytic cognitive style measure did best on the test. (CFR)

Information is presented about the grade 12 diploma examinations for Mathematics 30, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, and Physics 30 to be administered in 1988. Included are both the French and English language versions of the document. Topics explained include: (1) general format of the examinations (stating the content, emphasis, and time allotments);…

Information is presented about the grade 12 diploma examinations for Mathematics 30, Biology 30, Chemistry 30, and Physics 30 that were administered in 1986. Topics explained include: (1) general format of the examinations (stating the content, emphasis, and time allotments); (2) examination schedules (listing the calendar dates and times for the…